Little About Ships
In May, 1861, two months after assuming the presidency, Abraham Lincoln told his Secretary of the Navy, the crusty Gideon Welles, that "I know but little about ships". Over the next four years, Lincoln learned a great deal about ships, and about much more besides. In his highly acclaimed book, "Lincoln and his Admirals" (2008) Craig Symonds tells the little-known story of Lincoln's relationship to the Navy. Symonds is professor emeritus of history at Annapolis, and this book was the co-winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize. Symonds has written extensively about both naval history and Civil War history, including works about Gettysburg, biographies of Confederate Generals Joseph Johnston and Patrick Cleburne, and a biography of Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan. But "Lincoln and his Admirals" may prove to be Symonds's most enduring work. It is a true accomplishment which manages the rare feat of saying something fresh and valuable about Lincoln and the Civil War.
Symonds's book is not a military history of the engagements of the Navy. Thus, some of the most famous naval actions of the Civil War, such as Farragut's victory at Mobile Bay, (and his capture of New Orleans for that matter), or the Navy warship "Kerseage's" capture of the CSA's raider "Alabama" are not described in detail. Even the on-the-seas description of the Union blockade is sparse. In general, Symonds describes naval engagements only to the extent they cast light on Lincoln's relationship to the Navy and of the Navy's political history during the war. The focus of the book is thus on Lincoln, on Secretary Welles and Assistant Secretary Gustavus Fox, and on their political relationship with the rest of Lincoln's cabinet, especially Secretary of State Seward, Secretary of War Stanton, and Secretary of the Treasury Chase. The command relationship, or lack of it, between the Army and the Navy is discussed throughout. Symonds gives close attention as well to the command structure of the Navy. At the outset of the Civil War, there were no Admirals in the service. The service developed as Lincoln and Welles searched for leaders in a way that had many parallels to Lincoln's painful search for able leaders of the Army.
With all the attention to the political growth of the Navy, Symonds's primary focus is on Lincoln's own growth as a leader. Symonds's portrait weaves together Lincoln's growing mastery of the Navy with broader political issues, especially those involving slavery and Emancipation. The book examines Lincoln's leadership in the sensitive areas of foreign affairs raised by the Civil War. Symonds has insights to offer into Lincoln's personal life, particularly with the death of his young son Willie early in his administration. Without sentimentalizing the matter, Symonds shows how Lincoln used his gift for storytelling and his sense of humor to break tension and to advance his political goals.
The book is organized by chapters covering each of the years 1861 - 1864, with a brief epilogue for 1865 and an important Introduction. The discussion early in the book of Fort Sumter and Lincoln's tentativeness at this point of his presidency is one of the most detailed and important of the book. Symonds also gives a thorough account of the early "Trent" affair, which threatened a war with Britain that the United States could ill afford, and of the political and legal issues involving the origins of the blockade. Much of the book describes the poor coordination and rivalry between the Army and the Navy and of how Lincoln had to work to pull the services together. Lincoln became a hands-on commander in order to implement the necessary coordination and to satisfy his own curiosity and interest in technology and in the instruments of war, especially as they involved river warfare and the development of ironclads. Symonds offers a full discussion of the Navy's role at Forts Henry and Donelson and at Vicksburg. He shows the importance of the Navy's coastal activities to the question of dealing with escaped slaves or "contrabands" and how this ultimately contributed to the Emancipation Proclamation.
Throughout the book, Symonds emphasizes how Lincoln grew into greatness. Lincoln emerges in Symonds's account as a somewhat passive, and reflective leader who tried to allow events to unfold in order to make an informed, balanced decision. Symonds accepts Lincoln's own characterization of his presidency: "I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me." (Introduction, at xi) Lincoln also, for Symonds, was a principled but pragmatic leader. Lincoln allowed situations to develop and then made what he felt was the best decision under the circumstances without necessarily becoming "hamstrung by established doctrine." (Introduction, at xi.) Symonds also praises Lincoln's creativity and ingenuity with mechanical things (Lincoln was the only president to hold a patent), a factor sometimes overlooked in his leadership. In Symonds's account, Lincoln grows from an inexperienced, vacillating leader, to a president who gradually learns to master events and subordinates. Ultimately, when he finds Army and Navy leadership with which he is satisfied, Lincoln becomes willing to delegate and have professionals take control of the military aspects of the war.
This is a dense, difficult book. It covers some matters covered in most histories of the Civil War but treats them in a new way. It also addresses some matters that people knowledgeable about the conflict will find unfamiliar. The book is a study of the political role of the Navy during the war. But even more, it is a meditation on the evolving character of Lincoln's leadership.
Robin Friedman
